There are many reasons I love working at Avantage, one of them being the flexibility as to 'how' and 'when' I work. Like Stephanie, I have a small child (I won’t gush about him, but he’s amazing), and balancing quality time with him is a big priority.

How I work:

I had the pleasure (or not) of working in the very late 80’s and 90’s in a structured office environment where it seemed to be all about how many hours one worked (I like to call it face time). It was never about vision, goals, nor strategy – the only thing aligned was ‘a line’ for the lunch truck (I can’t believe we ate that food). We obviously didn’t have the tools back then to work remotely (cell phones were a novelty), everything was a ‘department’ and processes were all manual (yes I’ve aged myself). Financial reporting was the only basis to measure results; we were always looking in the rearview mirror.

Times have changed. We now have the tools and knowledge to apply processes which make us more efficient and competitive. With the emergence of Web 2.0 and new technologies, we are able to communicate effectively no matter where we are in the world - meaning collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation have expanded in reach. There are no limits as to what we can do, we just need to learn to best manage ‘how’ the information flows effectively (internally and externally) to meet ever changing market demands and remain competitive. How to become a 'Connected Business'.

Thankfully today I split my work schedule between my home office and our work office (minus the lunch truck). I actually find I’m more productive working from home, but I am a people person and do need live human interaction on occasion.

When I work:

We are fortunate enough to have Grandma day care, so a typical day may look as follows:

• 5-5:30 am I get up and start my day

• 6-8:00 Work
• 8-9:00 Feed/Play/Send son off
• 9:30-12:00 Work (either at home or the office)
• 12-1:00 Lunch (sometimes w/family if working from home)
• 1-6:00 Work
• 6-9:00 Dinner/Family time/son to bed
• 9-10:00 Watch mindless TV or read, then off to bed

Today is different, grandma is unavailable (at the last minute), so as usual I will work before my child gets up, during his two daily naps, and early in the evening (when his dad’s home).

If I was a 9-5 ‘in the office’ employee, today would be very stressful – we’d need to figure out how to take care of my son, I’d probably have to take a sick day – no work would get done whatsoever. Today however is just as easy as yesterday, it only requires time shifting and I’m still able to work effectively, and produce results.

Gotta go someone’s crying to get up…(thankfully its not my husband!)